Photos: Snaps from Around the World

angieallover — Fri, 3 Aug 2012 17:08:00 GMT

My Scholarship entry - Through Local Eyes

angieallover — Fri, 3 Aug 2012 17:01:00 GMT

Hi! I'm Angie, and I hope to be the next Samantha Brown!

My passions are, believe it or not, film/media and travel! I went to film school in Philadelphia, PA, before working in the NYC television scene for two years, but was not passionate about the subject matter. So, I took a hiatus from the industry and accepted a tour leader position. I showed off tourists from around the world the US and Canada, and also did a lot of traveling myself, traveling extensively through Europe and Asia and living in Australia! I learned so much about the world and became a better photographer and blogger along the way.

I returned to Los Angeles and have been attempting to break into the world of Travel TV. I have many shows to pitch that I feel would showcase stories from around the globe. I have been researching grants and networking with talented camera operators, directors, etc, because I would love to shoot a pilot. My ideas range from the bizarre (a show dedicated to strange tourist sites) to the topical (the sex trade as it affects women in different cultures). I want to inspire people to travel!

I shot this to show off my on-camera personality and some of my favorite parts of LA!

My Travel Writing Scholarship 2011 entry - Journey in an Unknown Culture

angieallover — Fri, 4 Mar 2011 09:12:08 GMT

The phrasebooks worked just fine in Madrid or Rome, but there I stood, overpacked suitcase, night sky falling, overwhelmed by Tokyo, Japan.

“Ozzaaa-koooza?” I asked a man in an alleyway. He stared blankly. I was SPEAKING Japanese. “Ozzzaaaa-kooooooozza?”

I held up my capsule hotel confirmation – “Asakusa”. “A’sok-uh-sa!” choppy and sing-songy. Welcome to Japanese 101! I nodded, beaming. He pointed towards a gigantic chili pepper statue across the river.

I wandered around this magnificent city alone for another hour, staring at building numbers, until finally a good Samaritan grabbed my luggage and walked me to the hotel door.

“Arigato!” I shouted, nodding dramatically. Thankfully, Japanese people are the most polite in the world, so he kindly waved me goodbye instead of rolling his eyes.

And thus began my first authentic Japanese experience: my accommodation.

Capsule hotels are certainly for some people. Those people are Japanese business people. Not single, English-speaking, female Americans, even of the extraordinarily adventurous variety like myself.

I was issued a locker, a pair of well-worn granny pajamas, and a capsule. I changed, walked down the all-female hallway and stared at my sleeping quarters.

The “capsules” resembled a large egg crate propped on its side. Two levels, bunked, about three feet by three feet by eight feet, with a thin mattress and a small television mounted inside.

I slid in. Not too bad. Not claustrophobic or morgue-like, as I had feared. I closed the shade covering the capsule’s entryway, my doorway to the rest of the world. Then, I flipped on the TV… Japanese, right. I took a few photos of my feet, lay back, and welcomed sleep.

Then, it got creepy. Somewhere, a lady began snoring. But, from where? I could stand snoring, but unidentifiable snoring? Worse! Then, the Japanese chatter. Solitary confinement may have been better. I never felt so alone.

I must have slept, though, because soon it was morning. I wandered into the bathroom then, backed straight out. I saw a pool, or was it an onsen? And three open showerheads on the wall. I pondered my next move as a tiny, older Japanese lady stripped naked and darted past me. I heard a splash as she landed in the pool.

I leaned my ear closer. She emerged from the pool, rinsed off in the shower, emerged and toweled off shamelessly before me.

She left and I slid out of my pajamas, flew into the bathroom – splash – shower – towel – safety!

Thanks to jetlag, I beat the business crowd on morning two, and it was more splash – twenty minute swim – onsen photo shoot - shower – towel – checkout and check into English-speaking youth hostel.

It was certainly an interesting way to be introduced to Japan. My adventures were only beginning, and while I laugh at my misadventures at the capsule hotel, they were nothing compared to my memories of biting into a Japanese donut, feeling a vague sensation of horror, and spitting out ground beef. Where was the cream???

Girl Gone Global

Photos: Snaps from Around the World

My Scholarship entry - Through Local Eyes

My Travel Writing Scholarship 2011 entry - Journey in an Unknown Culture